Proving that the social butterfly can be the happy isolationist.

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What does being a hermit really mean?

When I first started this blog, I was all fired up with lots of enthusiasm for what I wanted to write about. I wanted to write about those topics that told who I was and what I think is wrong with the world. I missed the point though… I needed to be writing about what is right in the world! At least what is right in my world.

I chose the name for this blog because deep down I really like the idea of being secluded and away from the general population of planet Earth. Don’t get me wrong, I love people. I love being around many people, but I dislike being around those I find to be… well… inconsiderate of others.

You know the ones I’m talking about… the guy next door who let’s his dogs out at 6:00am each morning and when they come poop in your yard he doesn’t even clean it up; or the couple in the apartment next to you who like to party at all hours of the night when all you want to do is sleep; or the guy who never mows and repairs his vehicle in the front yard.

I don’t like associating with those types of people. In fact, I want to be as far away from them as possible.

Clearly I believe there are some political issues that are inconsiderate of others too, but I have learned my lesson and am staying away from political discussions as much as possible. As I have said in numerous other postings, in this blog and on other blogs, I have given up trying to change the minds of those people who I disagree with politically. Those people are not only inconsiderate… in my book, they are also stupid. That being said… I am done with politics.

So… what is this blog really about?

I started it because I wanted it to be a place where I could share who I am, with those who care to know more about me. But when taking a stand on political issues it is easy to become negative and negativity does little to show the world what it is that I believe and what it is that makes me who I am.

Not to mention that it greatly fails at showing the world what brings me joy.

Starting today, I am, once again, going to become more active posting to this blog. I had taken some time away from posting because of my frustration with political discussions and inconsiderate people. But now I think I know the direction I am going to go.

I am going to start sharing some more of my personal day-to-day life and what it is that Ranae and I are trying to accomplish here at our property. There is plenty to be happy about and I can’t find much (if anything) to be negative about here on my little slice of terra firma.

This place is as close to heaven as is possible for us. There are no inconsiderate people letting their dogs crap on my yard. There are no parties next door until all hours of the night. There is no traffic to ruin the sounds of nature and there are no discussions about politics.

Discussions here usually center around the next project we want to tackle. Our topics are things like removing some dead trees to plant a wheat field or to see the pond from our front porch; where to put the flag pole or the vegetable garden; what type of goats to purchase; where to put the rabbit building; etc. All things that make me happy to dream about and work on.

Let me tell you a little about our place and then over the next several posts I will share some photos and some of the projects that are bringing us such joy and peace. The peace I had hoped for when I named this site “Vern the Hermit”.

Because this is being posted on the internet, I won’t tell you precisely where we live… there are just too many looney-tunes individuals out there, but suffice it to say we are in Texas and we are 60 miles from the nearest Walmart. That’s the type of remote living we like. I believe the little town we are nearest to does have a 4 aisle grocery store, but we rarely go there since we make a trip to the big cities every couple of weeks or so to stock up.

We originally purchased a piece of raw land consisting of just over five acres. The land was covered with trees… thick with trees actually. It has a nice pond that is about 17 feet deep at it’s deepest point.

The pond darn near went dry during the drought, but it’s back to full capacity now. The water is still a bit turbid but it’s clearing up nicely and we are about to spray it with some Aluminum Sulfate to help the solids bond together and settle to the bottom thereby making it clear and pretty.

When you get off the pavement to go to our property, you have to drive about a mile and a quarter down a twisting and turning gravel private road. You will pass only two neighbors so it’s not bad.

When you get to our place we do have a neighbor right beside us (to the south) but it’s okay since we have a thick tree cover that prevents us from seeing her and her from seeing us. She’s a nice young girl so it’s no big deal anyway. A person couldn’t ask for a better neighbor. She’s super sweet!

Across from us is the vacation home of a very nice gentleman that rarely comes out to his property. His house is kind of set off to the northwest corner of our land so we really can’t even see his house unless we go out onto the gravel road. He also owns the 5 acres directly adjacent to us to the north. Beyond (to the north) that five acre track next to us is another vacation home for a nice couple that come down about once every couple of months. They own 80 acres.

Behind us (to the east) is another vacation home for a nice couple that’s about our age. They own 30 acres and are some great folks too. The have a nice little two story cordwood construction cabin.

For the most part, we’re the only ones out here most of the time. And we love it!

Currently we have a small cabin (12×32) that we call home. It’s basically a single room efficiency apartment. The bathroom and closet are at one end, but the bedroom, dining area and kitchen are all in one open area. It’s nice compared to some, and it will certainly be a great guest cottage once we get our main house built.

In addition to the cabin that we call home, I have an office cabin. It’s basically a 10×16 portable building. I’ve turned it into an office and a ham shack. It’s where I earn the money to pay for this little slice of heaven.

And most recently we have added third building. It’s a 12×40 building. Ranae has a nice 12×14 office space and the rest is for storage of our book collection, etc. It looks like a real library in there.

Here is a recent photo of how the place looks.

Books are our past time. We don’t have cable or satellite television. We take great joy in reading and spend several hours a week with our noses buried in some sort of book. Neither one of us like fiction much, so we usually are reading something to further our projects out here.

Things are great Dana. I have so much I want to share. I will post some articles and photos from the beginning (back in May 2013) until now, soon. I think you will enjoy reading them. Hope all is well back home in Iowa.

I’m jealous buddy. Making my own plans on this end of the internet. I’ll update you when I have some concrete land plans. Right now at my house I’ve started a garden that takes up my entire back yard, I catch and use rainwater on my plants. I’m also growing some plants in experimental systems, hoping to make a full-on aquaponics system with tilapia and all whenever I buy some land. Till then, prep on.

Hi BJ! Long time no talk to ol buddy! Can’t wait to hear your plans. We bought an additional acre next to the 5+/- we had that I will tell you about in an upcoming post. I sure wish you were here to help us finish this place out. I have always admired your handy-man skills!

Vern and Renae
Sounds like a great place Vern. We are wishing you and Renae enjoy your new home site. You are living a life like American ancestors have lived..without hostiles we hope. We know ya’ll are spiritually strong and Texas is a state that appears to be doing well…..it gave us Sen Cruz.
I am still almost consumed by the events of the day……and continue to do what I can in hopes that America as we have known can re-appear. If you want me to remove your name from my email list we will depart friends of course and I will continue to be interested in ya’lls doings.
Good to hear from you and it sounds like a good plan
w&b

Hi Wilbur… I don’t mind getting your emails whatsoever. Actually I love getting them. It keeps me informed. I just refuse to debate those who feel differently than you and I do. LOL Hope all is well with you in the sunshine state.

I’m out of cell range too ol buddy. I have to use this cell repeater to get any reception at all really. And we use satellite for our internet. It’s pretty good though. Not a scatter band like HughesNet or Starband. It uses a spot beam and is much much better.